


there's a storm for every spring

by Horseman_of_Angst



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Anxiety, Breathing Exercises, Chronic Pain, Clay | Dream and Luke | Punz are bros, Comfort, Fainting, Gen, Grounding, Hugs, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, I need more of this pair please, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Luke | Punz has chronic pain, Mercenary Luke | Punz, Protective Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Tired Luke | Punz, Touch-Starved, Touch-Starved Luke | Punz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:48:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29727171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Horseman_of_Angst/pseuds/Horseman_of_Angst
Summary: Punz hasn't been feeling his best in a while. Whenever he has a job to do, he has to force himself and just try to power through it.One day the ache of his limbs and the weight of his bones finally cause him to break down, but he's helped back up by an old friend.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Luke | Punz
Comments: 4
Kudos: 98





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna be another multiple chapter fic, but probably not more than two or three. Anyways Punz is underrated and he deserves more love.   
> (Fic title from Spring and a Storm by Tally Hall)

The snow crunched under his boots as Punz made his way through L'Manberg. Dream had asked him to meet him at the portal, and Punz thought his enderchest was getting kind of empty anyway. 

When he heard the buzz of his communicator earlier that morning, Punz forced himself out of bed despite how heavy his bones felt. His breathing was shallow as he put on his under-armor and fastened the leather bracers around his forearms, and he felt dizzy as he pulled on his hoodie and fastened the straps of his netherite armor with shaking hands. 

Punz didn't have an answer for why he felt so sick. He guessed it was just one of those days. Still, it wasn't quite the reassurance he hoped it would be, his stomach twisting itself into a knot at the mere thought of having a meal. So he skipped breakfast. 

And there he was, approaching the portal, feeling frail and exhausted and starved. Whatever task Dream had prepared for him, Punz was just gonna have to power through and try not to collapse in on himself. _The payment will be worth it._ He thought to himself. _Just think of your echest filled to the brim with netherite ingots._   


At least that managed to calm the blonde down a bit, and he clutched his trident tighter as he finally reached the portal, the weapon a gentle weight that helped ground him. He reached out to pull his scarf down, wincing at the cold air that hit his face, and greeted his employer with a nod. Dream returned the favor, and he looked out into the distance as he put both his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. 

The two stood in comfortable silence for a minute, before Dream turned his head to look at Punz. "You look tired." He said observantly. The blonde met his employer's gaze before his eyes darted down to look at his boots, and he bit his lip as he nodded. 

"I, uh.. I didn't sleep so well." Punz muttered softly as he stuffed his free hand into the pocket of his hoodie, the other clutching the trident tighter. Punz hoped Dream wouldn't notice. "What do you need me to do?" He asked, trying to change the subject. 

Dream frowned behind his mask, looking at Punz' knuckles turning white as he tightly clutched the weapon at his side, his gaze drifting up to study the man's face. 

He looked _v_ _ery_ tired, actually. Dark, pronounced circles under his eyes and messy hair poking out from under the hood of his jacket, not to mention Punz' body language. He stood slightly hunched over, holding onto his trident like a lifeline, and the hand in his pocket looked like it was clutching his stomach. Overall, Punz looked like he was about to collapse. 

Dream hummed and took a moment to think, crossing his arms before opening his mouth to speak. "I need you to go home and rest, Punz. Can you do that for me?" 

Punz' tired eyes widened a little, and he stuttered for a second before forcing himself to be quiet. He took a moment to compose himself, clinging onto his trident a little more before asking "why? I thought you needed me to work today?" 

"Well, I _did,_ " Dream shrugged. "But you're clearly in no condition to be working right now. Go home and rest up." 

Punz was...speechless. Go home? But why? Thinking was hard all of a sudden. It felt like his head was filled with cotton, and he clung onto his trident for support as his knees buckled. 

"Punz?" He could hear Dream, but he couldn't see him. His vision was blurry and he tensed up as he felt two arms wrap around him, a jolt of electricity running down Punz' spine as the familiar presence tried to carefully sit him down. He weakly did so, his trident clattering as it hit the floor, and the blonde winced as he felt the cold snow stick to his jeans. 

"..Yup. Definitely in no condition to be working." Dream decided as he held Punz close, waiting for the oxygen to reach the blonde's head again. 

"Ugh.." Punz murmured as he rubbed his face, blinking a few times before his blurred vision started to focus again. He tried to get up, but Dream kept a firm hold on him. 

"It's okay. Let's just sit here a while, yeah? Here, lemme just.." the younger man uttered as he reached out to pull the hood of Punz' jacket up over his head again, adjusting his scarf a little before directing the man's hands up to hold the amulet hanging from the chain around his neck. 

"The eye of ender is so pretty, isn't it?" Dream asked as the two of them looked down at the amulet, which had an eye of ender embedded into it. Punz nodded as he reached out to slide his fingers over the smooth surface, touching the sides of it and feeling the gold that encased the eye. His fingers moved further up to run across the chain, feeling the texture of the metal as he blinked and allowed his vision to focus on the details. 

They sat there for a little while, Dream helping Punz ground himself and smiling as he watched the man slowly calm down. "How are you feeling?" He asked after a moment, and Punz let out a tired sigh as he shrugged. 

"I wanna go home." He whispered as he tightly held the amulet in one hand and clutched his stomach with the other. 

"Let's go then, I'll help you." Dream hummed as he reached out to grab the trident that Punz had dropped. He put it away inside his inventory, and Punz let him. 

Dream moved to wrap an arm around Punz' back and tucked his hand away under the man's arm, then took the blonde's other arm and draped it over his shoulders. Punz looked up at him with a confused expression. "B-but.. what about work?" 

"Not important." Dream said matter-of-factly, and Punz knew that his employer's tone meant that there's no room for discussion. He held onto Dream's shoulder as the man helped him back onto his feet, swaying a bit from the weight of his netherite armor. 

Dream kept a firm grip around Punz' torso, and together they slowly moved back to the man's house.


	2. my bad decisions (define my false suspicions)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please tell me Dream and Punz friendship has a subtwt 
> 
> (title from Who Am I by NEEDTOBREATHE)

After a while they had finally made it back to Punz' house, and they were both feeling pretty worn down. Dream was strong, but Punz wasn't exactly light, and his netherite armor didn't help him much in terms of helping the man walk back home. 

"There we go.. all set." Dream grunted as he helped the blonde sit down on the couch, plopping down next to him with a groan. He stretched his arms out above his head before sinking into the cushions, basking in the softness. 

He turned his head towards Punz to ask him something, and found the blonde with his eyes closed, frowning and looking even more exhausted than before. "Punz? You okay?" He asked and looked down at the armor Punz was still wearing, reaching out to loosen the straps and taking off the shoulder pieces. Punz shook his head. 

"Breathing.. h-hurts...'' he gasped. Dream's eyes widened a little as he rushed to unfasten the straps of Punz' chestplate, sliding it off and letting it fall to the wooden floor. 

"Can you lift your arms for me, Punz?" The younger man asked and Punz nodded before slowly doing so, allowing Dream to take off his hoodie to reveal the man's under-armor. 

Dream frowned at how tight it was, and he motioned Punz to turn around before starting to undo the laces on the back. "Dude, do you wanna break a rib or something?! How fucking tight is this?" Punz didn't answer. 

Once it was finally off, Punz nearly collapsed in on himself, taking quick, shallow breaths as he clutched his chest. "You're okay, Punz. Put your hand on my chest, we'll breathe together, alright?" Dream said, prying one of the blonde's hands away from his chest to rest it on his own. 

"That's right. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. In for four, hold for seven... keep going, you're doing great." The younger man said encouragingly as he rubbed Punz' back, smiling as the man's heavy breathing slowed down after a bit. 

Once his breathing was back to normal and his chest didn't feel like it was about to burst into flames anymore, Punz slumped forward into Dream, resting his head on the man's shoulder and closing his eyes before remembering that - fuck - this is his _employer_. How unprofessional of him. 

He quickly sat back up, his haste only earning him another layer to his splitting headache. "Ugh... I-.. sorry, I forgot we were still at work..." He groaned, reaching up to hold his head as if it would relieve some of the pain. 

Dream laughed, but it wasn't snarky or demeaning. He shook his head. "Relax, dude. We're not at work anymore." He said, gently guiding his friend's head back onto his shoulder. 

"..We're not...?" Punz asked softly. Dream responded with a nod, and suddenly all the tension left Punz' frame as he sunk into Dream, his _friend_.   


"Thank you..." he gasped as he practically melted into the man next to him, a relaxed expression on his face as Dream helped him slide down til Punz' head was resting in his lap. Dream simply smiled as he brought up a rough, calloused hand to comb through the man's blond locks, which Punz leaned into. 

After a few moments of silence, Dream spoke up. "You wanna tell me what happened out there, Punz?" He asked softly as he continued to pet his friend's head, his tone not demanding or accusatory in the slightest. 

Punz let out a soft sigh, pressing his face into Dream's leg as he tried to put his thoughts into words. "I- I don't know, Dream... I just.. I've been feeling really overwhelmed lately..." He whispered as he reached for the chain still around his neck, running his fingers over the metal to calm himself down. 

"Overwhelmed..how exactly?" The younger man asked softly. Punz' grip on his chain tightened. 

"I dunno how to describe it.." He muttered as he bit his lip. "I do know that it hurts." 

"Hurts?" Dream asked as he ran worn and scarred fingers through his friend's messy locks, smoothing them down. 

Punz nodded. "It's like.. this ache all over my body. I have other injuries, and they hurt too, but this... this is..almost constant." 

Dream immediately pulled his hand away, hovering it over the man's head as he asked a worried "this doesn't hurt you, does it?" Punz snorted, reaching out to blindly grab Dream's wrist and bringing it down again. 

"Please continue, it helps. A lot." He muttered into Dream's leg, and the younger man nodded, a smile on his face as he started to run his fingers through Punz' locks again. 

"And, um.." Dream started. "Any reason you put your under-armor on so tightly?" He asked nervously as he lifted his free hand up to fidget with one of the drawstrings of his hoodie. 

"The pressure calms me down." The older man said, his eyes closed as he tried not to focus on the aching in his chest. 

"Pfft, if you call breaking all of your ribs 'calming down', sure." Punz shot him a glare before sighing as he looked away again. 

"I _know_ I shouldn't wear it so tightly, but it just.. it just feels wrong without it, y'know..?" 

Dream nodded. "I..think I know what you mean. But please don't do it too often, alright?" Punz responded with an annoyed grumble into Dream's thigh. "I just don't want you getting hurt." 

"I'll..try, I guess.." the blonde mumbled, the last part under his breath. 

"That's good enough for me." The younger man said with a smile, leaning back into the couch a bit as he continued to comb his fingers through Punz' locks. 

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Punz nearly nodding off at the gentle pets, the warmth from Dream's lap soothing the perpetual ache in his limbs. "Are you sleepy?" Dream asked with a chuckle, leaning over to find the older man's eyes closed. Punz nodded. "Get some rest, then. You deserve it." 

"But.. what if you need to get up?" The blonde asked as he opened his eyes to look up at his friend. 

"I can't think of anything that could be more important right now. Sleep." Dream gently reassured him as he continued to play with his locks, and Punz reached for the man's free hand, entwining their fingers as he rested his eyes once more. Dream gave his hand a gentle squeeze, smiling when Punz returned the favor before dozing off in his lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhh I love their friendship so much 
> 
> This was a lot of fun to write, I hope you enjoyed! :D

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!   
> And I just want to thank Iggy for giving me the motivation to start posting my Punz fics. You're amazing <3


End file.
